Melon Pods: a sticky situation gets hot
by meterbroken
Summary: Takes place at the Western Air Temple, just before The Boiling Rock.
1. Chapter 1

Zuko never imagined that she would boil them. When he gathered the melon pods, he was only thinking about giving everyone fresh fruit.

Aang recognized them right away. "Melon pods! The monks used to eat these all the time. You have to put the whole little pod in your mouth at once. If you take a small bite out of it, you'll get juice all over the place!"

Katara wasn't going to try them. Just because Haru kept talking about the, "explosion of sweet juice" and The Duke kept reaching out for more "chewy bombs," didn't mean that she had to try something that lying backstabber picked. Sokka ranted on and on about, "Mouthfuls of gummy goodness" and tried to talk with his mouth stuffed with pods. "Deese are tho tasthy! An thicky in my teef." Katara stomped away in disgust.

As usual, Zuko rose first the next morning. He put a small handful of pods next to Katara's favorite cooking pot. She didn't need to know that he had saved them for her. He climbed up the mountainside to find a good spot to meditate in the early morning sun.

Katara found it irritating that Zuko always got up first. She was used to having some time to herself in the morning before she started making breakfast. Now she always woke to find the fire started and a hot pot of water boiling for tea. So much for relaxing while waiting for the water to boil. He was so thoughtless!

Breakfast for a group this large was always hot cereal, with fruit if they could get it. Katara found a small handful of melon pods next to her pot, and smiled. Aang was so sweet. Or maybe it was The Duke? Oh, no. Not Haru? She didn't think she could take anymore "sweet liquid" poetry from The Mustache this morning.

When the cereal was almost ready, Katara didn't think twice about adding fruit to the pot. She just grabbed the pods, and dropped them in.

Her screams echoed through the canyon. Water rose from the fountain and crashed in a heavy wave over the cooking fire, breakfast, and Katara. Aang flew to her side, leaping gracefully over the mess to see if she was ok. She didn't even look at him.

Several things happened at once:  
Katara shouted, "ZUKOOOOO! Your lava bombs didn't get Aang, you spoiled, selfish, twisted, evil Aaargh! This still hurts!"  
Aang backed away in fear.  
Sokka arrived at her side, boomerang in hand, shouting, "What happened? Were you attacked? What's this pink stuff? You're all…sticky"  
Teo and The Duke, forgetting that Katara could heal herself, rushed back to the temple to find burn cream and bandages.  
Zuko ran into the camp, "Is my sister here?"  
Haru just stood still, eyes wide and mouth open.  
Toph fell on her ass, doubled-over with laughter. Between gasps for air, she screeched "Sugar Queen – get it?" to no one in particular.

When Katara stopped ranting long enough to coat herself with glowing water, Zuko leapt forward, shouting, "Not Water! Don't add water!" Haru chose this moment to wake up and attempted to block Zuko by sinking him three feet deep in stone.

Zuko was immediately popped out of the ground and hurled five feet toward Katar. "No you don't, Junior Stash, you're not spoiling this show," Toph smirked.

Katara's glow was fading. The sticky, pink liquid had expanded into a slimy goo that oozed from her hair to her boots. Sokka stood in front of Zuko, shouting, "Did you do this to her?"

Aang said, "No. I think she's covered in melon pod syrup. You're not supposed to cook them."

Zuko didn't argue with the water warrior. Instead, looked past Sokka's shoulder and spoke to the Avatar. "Aang, please…please take away her water!" Aang's water bending removed the water and the spilled cereal, but Katara didn't dry out.

Zuko's plea was desperate. "Katara, I never meant for anyone to get hurt – I swear, I just didn't think that you would try to cook them!" Katara would have attacked him if she could move her arms. She tried to tell Aang that it was a trap, but half of her mouth was glued shut, and when she turned her head, one of her hair loopies adhered to her shoulder.

Panic set in when she realized that her arms were completely pinned to her sides, and her dress was plastered to her body. She couldn't bend. She couldn't talk. She didn't dare move, or she would just get tangled up in herself. And the evil Fire Prince responsible for this torture was standing right next to her. Sounding sinist- …worried. He sounded worried. She must be going deaf, too.

Zuko tried to explain, "The gummy fibers expand in water. The more you add, the gooier it gets. You can't wash it off, and it won't dry up by itself."

Aang tried to sound confident, but he really didn't know what to do. He announced that he'd start with Air Bending, "Hold on. I'm going to try to dry it." Zuko's protests were drowned out by the rushing wind that Aang directed toward Katara. It didn't dry up the jelly and juice, but it did undo Katara's braid and coat her hair with syrup. And a few leaves.

Zuko tried appealing to Sokka's logical side by explaining how he could heat and dry-out the goo, but walked away when Sokka said, "I think you've done enough to hurt my sister."

Sokka was in his glory – directing, deducing, and experimenting. He put on his special inspector hat and magnifying glass, and the boys began the search for an antidote. They pelted Katara with cures. Teo and The Duke gathered every plant, animal and mineral fat they could find. They started with the burn cream, which sank into Katara's sleeve, and almost took The Duke's hand with it.

Sokka wandered around in a circle, mumbling to himself. "I've got it! We need to coat the sticky-stuff first. Haru, dust her off." The earth-bender raised his hand, and sand gently spiraled up and over Katara's hair and shoulders. The dirt sat on the surface of the goo for a moment before being enveloped by the sticky mass.

Zuko and Toph were the only bystanders. He sat with his head in his hands. She had set-up a stone lounge-chair and snacks.

Katara stood silently in the middle of chaos. She was coated in slime, dirt, leaves, grease, and, she guessed from Momo's hungry glances – probably bugs. Her neck cramped from being stuck-down sideways by her hair. She couldn't sit down. She could barely talk and she was starting to itch. She tried to slow her breathing and think strong thoughts. Endure. Don't cry. Don't give him the satisfaction. Crying will stuff up your nose and you won't be able to breathe. I can't breathe! She tried to shout, "I 'ant eethe! I ANT EETHE!"

"What?" Sokka asked, "You can't see? It's ok, Katara. I can straighten out your head if I cut your hair…" Sokka was holding out the sharp edge of his boomerang. Katara gave a defeated squeak.

Zuko jumped up and shouted, "NO! NOT HER HAIR!" Even Toph was surprised by that outburst. Everyone, except Katara, turned in silence to gape at Zuko. Sokka turned so quickly that he abandoned his boomerang in Katara's hair. Without taking his eyes off Katara, Zuko stepped forward and knelt at her feet so she could see his eyes. "I can fix this. Please. Trust me." His voice was strained and gravelly. "Let me help you." His voice fell to a whisper. "You don't have to cut your hair."

A very small, muffled voice said, "es."

Less than ten minutes later, Zuko and Katara were alone in a small stone cube that Toph had grown around them. Zuko had gathered a lantern, several sealed water flasks, and a stool. The room was only about ten feet cubed, and it was dark and stuffy. The floor of the room was covered with sand. Toph had already taught Aang how his earth bending could be used to see through stone with vibrations, and Katara had asked for the sand to keep him from spying.

Aang and Toph sat outside, periodically bending tiny air holes that Aang used to blow fresh, dry air into the otherwise sealed space. Everyone else but Sokka had wandered off. He started to pace, and mumbled, "I don't want my little sister left alone with that guy." Pace, pace. "She's going to kill him, and then who will teach Aang Fire Bending?"

Toph tripped him with a rock, and spun him around and away by bending the earth beneath his feet. "Don't worry, Snoozles. I'll keep both eyes on them."

It was already hot in the stone room. "It has to be dry heat," Zuko explained as he tossed-aside his shirt. He was wearing the drawstring pants he usually wore to train with Aang. They were both starting to sweat in the closed-in space. "I need to get the temperature hot enough to evaporate the water from the jelly without burning you."

Zuko hadn't been this nervous in a long time. Would Katara trust him? He had earned her trust before, and she had opened up to him with forgiveness and generosity that had astounded him. Then he betrayed her. The stone box that surrounded them was too much like the caverns under Ba Sing Se. It felt so – personal. He needed to help her without reminding her of the last time they were alone together. The key to this, he decided in that moment, would be to behave like a field medic. She was just a patient. Step 1 – triage.

"I'm going to get the boomerang out first so I can un-stick your hair from your shoulder. This is going to get really warm, so pull away if you need to." He was standing inches away from her, lit by a single lantern. She could only see him from the waist down. He wasn't wearing shoes. She was glad. She hated those stupid, pointy-toed Fire Nation shoes. It reminded her of pointy Fire Nation armor, and a certain prince's former pointy tail. Pony tail. Wow, it was really hot in this room.

He raised his arms and warmth radiated from both of his hands. A while powder fell on the floor as she felt the weight of the weapon lift from her hair. Warmth moved down to her shoulder, and a hot liquid, like candle wax, melted onto her neck. She gasped at the pain, but her head was free! She straightened up so quickly that her forehead bumped into his chin. He stepped back, "Did I hurt you?"

His eyes glowed like an owl-cat's. He looked so different, in the warm lantern light, than he did in the cool green phosphorescence of Earth Kingdom crystals. She tried to tell him that she actually felt better. Her mumbled words drew Zuko's fingers toward her lips, but then he pulled his hand away without touching her. "I know you're uncomfortable, but I don't want to touch your face until you can heal yourself. I'm going to free your arms first."

Starting at the tips of her fingers, he ran his hand quickly up her left arm, brushing bits of white powder off her bare skin. The thin layer was easy to remove, but the goop that adhered to her clothes had soaked in, so her arm was still stuck to her side. When he reached her left shoulder, he pressed his hand against her short sleeve. Katara felt the heat of his hand and warm liquid through her dress. Just when the heat became uncomfortable, the jelly solidified and cracked, like wax. He moved up higher. As the next spot was starting to crack, the waxy surface below it began to get sticky again. He went back to the hem of her sleeve, this time using one hand to warm the cloth from above and the other to lift the fabric away from her skin.

There was a loud tearing sound as her dress ripped. She yelped from the heat and the tug on her skin. He winced, and the agitation he felt was evident in his voice, "I'm sorry, Katara. The wax won't come out unless the fabric stays warm when it's pulled away from your skin, and I can't heat the whole dress without burning you." There was a long, silent pause while they both considered the implications of this discovery.


	2. Chapter 2

Katara thought that the silence of the stone room was uncomfortable, compared to the chaos outside. She could hear him breathing. They were both startled by the sudden opening of tiny air holes at the top of the wall, and the rush of fresh, dry air. Zuko looked away. "I could teach Aang how to do it. I know you like him and…" He looked at her again, "I mean, I can understand if you prefer a friendly face."

Katara's blue eyes were almost black in the lantern light. Aang's face was much too friendly for this situation. She didn't know how to deal with his crush, and she wasn't in a hurry to be alone with him. She weighed one embarrassing, awkward option against the other. Option 1, stay sticky forever, giving up sleep and food. Option 2, hurt her best friend and potential savior of the world while letting the twelve-year old boy see her naked. Option 3, Zuko. The face of her enemy. Liar. Betrayer. Ripping her dress off piece by piece.

What would Gran-Gran want her to do? This thought reminded her that her family was just outside. Katara was safe. Toph could be summoned with one stomp of her foot. It would only be embarrassing, not dangerous. Gran-Gran always said that no one could embarrass you unless you let them. She tried to keep her voice strong and clear, "ust et dis off ov me, ease"

Zuko let out the breath he was holding. She was going to trust him. He had another chance to prove his worth and sincerity. He knew that she was feeling incredibly vulnerable, even though the entire gang was waiting outside to kill him on command. He would treat her with respect, and do everything he could to maintain her dignity. She was a bending master, not a little girl. Right. Definitely not a little girl.

"Let's get your arms free." Zuko went back to the torn sleeve, cracking wax and ripping the fabric from bottom to top. He couldn't get to the space under her arm at all, and the whole area was turning red. "I'm going to try pulling it up from the bottom." He bent down on one knee, and ripped the loose fabric of her dress until he removed everything below her hand that wasn't covered in goo. "You'll feel it start to warm up." She felt him working his fingers under her hand, very slowly and carefully, and then his whole hand was wrapped around hers as warm wax dripped off of her fingertips. Her breath hissed in. She cried out when he reached her wrist. He was trying to pull her arm away without tearing the dress, but had to use too much heat to pry it off without removing the fabric.

The thought that he might hurt her gave him the incentive he needed to start ripping cloth. His fingers slid up her thigh, tore the strip away from her body, and peeled it off the inside of her arm – inch by inch. There was a pause when he reached her wrappings. He looked up, but she was just staring straight ahead. It took longer to melt through the thicker layer of cloth, and her hip was red and sore by the time he got to her waist and freed her elbow. She jumped when his fingers slid up her ribcage, and bit her lip when a piece of her top wrappings was removed without hesitation. Seconds later, her arm was free.

Zuko smiled as he stood up to toss-aside the last strip of fabric. She was a healer – she knew how to keep this professional. It wouldn't be so difficult. Then she raised her arm and stretched, exposing the full length of bare skin that ran all the way up the side of her body. He froze. He wasn't prepared for it to be this hard. Difficult. To be difficult.

His reaction was not lost on Katara, and she quickly put her arm back down. "ould I ave ater?" Embarrassed to be caught staring, Zuko turned away and uncorked a water bottle. "Here. Don't spill it on yourself." They both drank and she bent some water into a glowing glove. Katara couldn't reach much more than her hip and shoulder. "eed oddur am" she mumbled, as she bent the water back into the empty bottle in Zuko's hands. He faced her. "Let me clean off your face, first. I'll move slowly, but it's probably going to hurt." His eyes met hers. "Are you ready for this?"

Shining, deep-blue eyes blinked once, and she nodded.

Zuko warmed both hands and brushed her hair up off her face. His hands worked all the way around her, one left, one right, lifting and piling her thick hair on top of her head. The dry hair on the edges stuck to the gooey pile on top, and kept it all out of the way. He had never seen her with her hair up, only with the braids she always wore. Even with all of the dirt and grease, Uncle Iroh would have found something ridiculously poetic to say about her beauty. Zuko sighed to himself. Uncle would make a lousy medic.

It didn't take as much heat as he had feared. Katara felt Zuko gently sweeping white flakes away from her face with the tips of his fingers. He started at the top of her forehead, working down her hairline and trailing his fingertips down the side of her neck, and back up again. His fingertips grazed the skin behind her ear, and she shivered. He watched her get goose bumps in a stifling-hot room. Zuko swallowed, and tried to work a little faster.

He never made eye contact, but he could feel Katara watching his face. He lifted her chin so he could reach her throat. She brought it back down again in reflex, but he used both hands and guided her head with one as he brushed off wax with the other. Over and over, up and down and around her neck. It was hypnotic – his concentration surprised her. She was even more surprised that she could stand still and let him do it.

Moving his left hand to the back of her neck, he rested his right hand on the side of her face. His thumb caressed her lips as he brushed the last of the wax from her mouth. He felt her quick intake of breath as she closed her eyes. He remembered when she touched his scar in the cave. Her thumb had been on his lips. He remembered why he had closed his eyes, and it was his turn to gasp.

The air holes opened and dry air rushed into the room. They leapt apart and each found something else to look at in the tiny stone space. Zuko said, "I'll get you more water" Just as Katara said, "I'd like more water, please." Her voice was hoarse.

"Can you heal your throat?" He was asking as her water glove began to glow.

There was a pause, and when she spoke again, her voice was at full-strength. "Yes. We can keep going."

He freed her other arm, and it seemed to go faster the second time. He was back in Medic Zuko mode, methodical and efficient. He turned around while she uncorked her bending water and healed the minor burns on her sides. "Ok, Zuko. What's next?" It was much easier to be brave now that she could use both arms.

He seemed to know what she was thinking, and said, "You should try bending without your arms."

Katara replied, "You mean, like when you breathe fire and steam comes out of your nose? No thanks." She obviously didn't understand the significance of that steam.

"No," he responded with exaggerated patience, "the breath of fire is rare among fire benders. Only a few members of the royal family can…"

Katara cut him off, "and I'm just a water peasant, right Zuko? So I couldn't possibly learn to do something like that. Well, you've seen me freeze water with my breath." She waved the bottle of bending water. "Would you like a demonstration?"

Zuko didn't say anything. He moved closer and turned her shoulders so he was standing behind her. He started to peel strips of dress off of her back before he answered her. "No, that's not what I mean. You're a powerful bender. And you're right about using breath to freeze water, but that's not what I meant, either."

Katara bristled, "Well, pardon me, your highness."

He continued to remove her dress, as he answered, "There's a difference between breathing cold onto water, and breathing out an actual weapon. You need something you can use when your hands are tied."

Feeling his breath on the back of her neck made a certain memory too hard to ignore. "You mean, like when someone ties me to a tree?"

He stopped moving. She didn't turn around. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "Does that happen often?" His deadpan was hard to read, but she was tired, and the laugh just escaped. He started peeling her dress again. "Besides, I just found out that I was wrong about you being a peasant."

That got her attention. "What?"

She turned her head back, but he stopped her from turning around. "Isn't your father the chief?"

Her back was now bare down to the middle of her hips. She didn't even notice, as she turned around to face him. "You've seen the South Pole village. I'm not exactly Princess of the Penguins." A corner of his mouth rose in an almost-smile. "Besides," she put on a serious tone, "that would make Sokka a prince, and that's just ridiculous." Zuko just nodded in agreement.

"So, do you think you could clean my hair, next? I think all the bugs are dead now." Katara was relived that things had taken a lighter turn.

But Zuko was looking intently at the stone wall behind her. "Well, it's going to take a really long time to get your hair clean," Zuko answered. "I know you've been standing all day, so I brought a stool in, but…" he gestured toward her backside, "you'd get stuck."

The air holes opened, and they both inhaled deeply.


	3. Chapter 3

"Well," Katara sounded determined, "How do we do this?"

Zuko tried to sound like he hadn't been thinking about it the whole time he was working on her back. "You could borrow my shirt."

Yes, she had thought about his shirt. The shirt he wasn't wearing. The shirt she really didn't need to be reminded he wasn't in. He looked – it looked comfortable.

Then she panicked. "Crap! I can't ask Toph for clothes!" Zuko was both startled by her expletive and confused by the mention of Toph. He didn't need to ask, because Katara started pacing and ranting. "I was going to ask Toph to bend some spare clothes in here, but I can't. What would Aang think? I'll have to face them eventually, but I'm not going to make everyone out there wonder what's happening in here that requires new clothes. Crap! What about Sokka! And Haru. And, well, Crap!"

"Katara, it's ok. I said that you can wear this." He picked up his shirt, but she jumped away from him.

"No! Not yet! Don't you understand? What if it gets stuck to me? I'll have nothing to wear when we go back outside. We have to save it for when we're… done."

It took a second for the thought to register, and another ten seconds to clear an image from his mind. Zuko broke into a cold sweat. Was she really saying what he thought she was saying? She was so concerned with the Avatar's good opinion that she was willing to be completely naked? Dear, Agni -she'd never forgive him! It was her idea, but he knew she'd never forgive him for her embarrassment. Crap!

Outside, Toph was wishing she had made the walls a little less thick. But, if she could hear, so could Twinkletoes, and she couldn't let that happen. He was already a mess of worry, and she had to threaten him to keep him from making a spy-hole.

Every once in a while, Sokka or Haru would saunter over for a report. "Soooo…" Sokka would try to sound casual, "how are things?" She gave him the same, reassuring, one-word reply each time, "Boring."

Haru's heart was leaping around like a rabbaroo in a prickle-nest, so he was worthy of a longer answer, "Yeah, it's taking a while. Zuko's really thorough when he sets him mind to something. I'm sure he's doing a really good job." This had the desired effect of calming Twinkletoes while leaving Junior Stash quivering with curiosity. Toph hadn't had this much fun in ages. She bent the stone air holes open and shut again.

Zuko watched Katara hold her head in her hands, and realized that she was about to cry. Maybe she was irrational from exhaustion. He let out the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding. It didn't matter – this was Katara's decision. All he could do was find a way to help. He couldn't save her dress, but he didn't want to strip her of her dignity. He understood the nature of honor.

"I have an idea," he stated. "I'll wear a blindfold." He tied the sash of his shirt around his eyes.

"I think that would work," she answered, sounding hesitant. A little voice in her head was telling her to stall. "Maybe you should clean off the back of my legs, first." She turned around, and he took off the blindfold before kneeling behind her.

As he worked, he asked, "Katara, why are you so worried about Aang? I'm sure he'll understand. He won't like it, but I don't think you should worry so much." Katara hesitated.

Zuko peeled away another strip before she answered. "Aang can't control the Avatar State."

"What do you mean? Zuko stood up to face her. "Does this mean he can't stop my father?"

She looked away and answered, "No, I know he'll defeat Ozai. It's just that he loses control over some things."

Zuko smirked, "Like naked water benders?"

She blushed, and her expression got very serious when she answered. "Once, someone threatened to bury me alive. Aang wiped out an entire Earth Army barracks, and killed dozens of soldiers before I was freed. I won't put him through that again. Not over something like this." She put on a face that she hoped looked convincingly brazen. "Besides, I'm not ashamed. It's just my body. Totally natural." He decided not to second that opinion as heartily as he felt it.

He went back to peeling off her dress. Sliding his fingers around the back of one thigh, he said, "Don't worry, Katara. Aang will never know that I had to rip your dress. He'll think I just turned my back while you changed." He was almost done, and worked very carefully so he wouldn't cut her under wrappings from between her legs. This process put him at eye level with the part of her anatomy that was causing the inconvenience, and he was working very hard at not thinking about it. Yes, she was making it very hard again. To concentrate. Damn.

He used his best Zuko-the-Medic voice, "Make sure you have a water flask ready to cool off your skin. I'll do this as quickly as I can." He stood in front of her so she could see his blindfold.

She turned around, put his hands on her hips, and said, "I'm ready."

Zuko moved his hands slowly until he reached fabric. It was an extra-thick layer, with both her dress and her under-wrappings, and it took much longer to remove than he had planned. Being blindfolded was worse for Zuko's concentration than seeing bare skin. He had to feel around more. (Maybe he felt around a bit more than absolutely necessary, but he was excruciatingly aware of every curve.) I

t didn't help that she kept hopping away and yelping every time the heat got to be too much. "Zuko," her voice was a whisper, "can I reach back there and cool off a bit?"

When he answered, there was a strange tone in his voice that she couldn't read. "I'm sorry, Katara. If you get wet, it's just going to swell up again." When he finally brushed the last of the wax off of her skin, he announced, "You can cool off now. Let me know when I can take off the blindfold."

Katara healed her backside and hopped up onto the stool. "All clear. You can do my hair, now."

He took off his blindfold and blinked. She was sitting up on the stool, wearing half a dress and her boots. He dropped to one knee and started to rip a spiraling strip of fabric from the bottom of one of his pant legs. "Zuko," Katara sounded puzzled, "what are you doing?"

"Here," he answered, and handed her the cloth. "It won't wrap all the way around your waist, but you can cover up a bit in the back, and stick the ends to the front of your dress." Her answering smile was worth every pair of pants he would ever own.

"Let's get those boots off," Zuko-the-Medic announced. He knelt on the sand at her feet, and pulled the tops of her socks away from her skin. The thick leather boots had resisted the goo, and they came off very easily. Katara insisted that he back away while she washed her feet with her bending water. She didn't see him smiling at her.

Zuko was about to touch her hair when he noticed something important. "Katara?" she looked up in response, and he gestured, "Your necklace." He thought she was going to cry again. "It's not so bad. It's just stuck on one side, and there's some goop on the pendant." He stepped forward, reached around to undo the clasp, and ran one finger around the edge that was stuck. The pendant held the necklace in place.

"Zuko, this carving is really delicate." Katara was worried.

Zuko raised his unscarred eyebrow, looked her in the eyes and said, "Do you trust me?" She nodded.

He placed both hands on the clean spots at her shoulders, leaned in, and breathed warm air on her neck. It was completely unexpected, and the most erotic sensation she had ever felt. Katara moaned. Zuko ignored it. He kept blowing on the pendant, and she felt the hot wax run down her chest. The pendant slipped, and fell into her wrappings.

There was an awkward pause, and he blushed with shock when she said, "We'll get that later."


	4. Chapter 4

Her hair was absurd. It would take forever to untangle. He started behind her head, at the nape of her neck, and pulled small clumps of hair away from the tangled mass above, starting at the root and pulling until he reached the ends. He brushed her shoulders to remove the white power, dirt, and twigs that accumulated in small piles. That's how he noticed the knots in her neck, brought on by tension and holding her head sideways for almost two hours.

Keeping most of the warmth in his hands, he rubbed his thumbs down her neck and out to her shoulders. She sighed. He worked the knots out of her shoulders, careful to keep his touch from crossing the line from therapeutic to affectionate. She was relaxed and pliant under his touch.

She yawned through her, "thank you," and leaned forward. That surprised him. The smooth curve of her back arched in front of him. He wanted to run his thumbs down the sides of her spine. Did she want him to touch her? Was this an invitation, or was she just stretching? Zuko really needed some water.

Where was he going? Katara missed his hands. It made her - bitchy. "Zuko, do you think we should take the time to clean my hair? Maybe I should just cut it."

He was drinking with his back to her. Zuko didn't turn around. He just kept drinking – even when there was nothing left in the bottle. "Zuko?" her voice softened, "why didn't you want me to cut my hair?"

_Because it's beautiful_, non-medic Zuko thought. _Because you are beautiful._ He turned around. "I knew you thought that the accident was my fault," he answered, "and I didn't want to listen to you yelling at me because I saved a few pieces of fruit for your breakfast."

Wrong answer.

"What!" Katara shouted at him. "You're the one who…shit!" Katara had tried to stand up and yell at him, but one of her feet had fallen asleep, and she slipped on the sand. The stool toppled. The scrap of his pants that she had wrapped around her lower back got caught on the stool and ripped off as Katara fell forward onto her hands and knees.

She flipped over and sat on the floor right away, but not quickly enough. She looked up at the startled Fire Prince. Even in the dim lantern-light, she could see that he blushed to his ears.

An exhausted Katara briefly considered the etymology of "em-bar-assed" and snorted. Then she started to giggle. The giggle grew louder and faster as she raised one fist in the air. She gasped out, "I …I rise with the moon" and collapsed on the floor in laughter.

And for the first time, Katara heard the Fire Prince laugh. A real, loud, out of control laugh that completely transformed his face. His unscarred eye welled up, and he turned toward the wall to lean against it until he could catch his breath.

When he turned around, she was lying on her back, staring at the air holes at the top of the walls. He extended a hand and said, "Sifu Katara, you really are a princess."

She didn't bother with a new cover-up when she got back onto the stool, and he didn't feel at all awkward. He went back to the slow-going process of cleaning her hair. The silence was more relaxed than any conversation had been all day.

He ran his hands through her hair, and stayed behind her as long as possible.

She didn't think he knew that he was humming. She would have asked him what the song was about, but she was afraid that he would stop. Katara watched his arms move around her head, glad that he was moving in front of her again. Her eyes trailed a bead of sweat that ran down his bare chest onto his abdomen. Whatever he was doing to clean her hair felt really good, but he…it… it was getting too warm.

The pleasant mood was broken by a harsh tug on a bad tangle. Katara swore. Zuko wasn't shocked by this anymore, but he felt bad about pulling her hair. "Sorry. Let me…well, here," he stammered, right before he leaned forward and blew warm air onto the mess behind her ear. It made her dizzy.

She felt his fingers work at the knot, and he blew on it again. She grabbed his arm and leaned her head against his chest. "Zuko?"

"Hmm?"was the only reply.

"I think I need more water."

After one more break, he stepped back to admire his work. The warm wax had smoothed her tight curls into long, loose waves. It was thick and shiny, extending a full foot longer down her back. _Dear Agni,_ he wondered_. How am I going to get through this?_

She was finally starting to look clean. He, however, was becoming a big, sweaty mess. He ripped his other pant leg, poured one of the bottles of water over the cloth, and started to wipe-off his arms.

Katara watched him, and sounded puzzled. "Zuko? I thought we had to keep things dry in here?" Before she finished talking, Zuko felt himself covered from head to toe in a cool mist of water. It was bent away seconds later, leaving him clean and dry. His hair fluffed back up and his recently cropped pants unstuck from his skin.

It felt amazingly refreshing, but invasive and intimate – as if she had washed him with her bare hands. His heart skipped. "That was…thank you"

It got uncomfortably quiet, and they stared at each other. It was time to deal with the other half of that dress.

"Start by removing everything I wouldn't wear at the beach," Katara tried to lighten things up a bit and put on a bold face. He was glad she spoke first, because his feet had been rooted to the floor.

She stood up. He had to get on his knees again, to remove the fabric over her abdomen and the lower half of her skirt. He did not look up when the skirt fell off the front of her legs. He peeled away everything but one band across her chest, and one across her hips. Then he backed away. Katara was wearing two tiny scraps of fabric and a lot of long hair, and she held herself with the dignity of a queen.

"I'll put the blindfold back on," Medic-Zuko sounded frightened. When his eyes were covered, Katara carefully bent his head down so she could whisper in his ear. "Zuko, if you ever tell anyone about this, I will bury you in a glacier so deep, no one will find you for a hundred years." Then she grabbed both of his wrists, and guided his hands toward the remaining scraps of her dress.

Zuko used two fingers on his left hand to heat the fabric, and pulled the dress away with his right. Katara's hands were over his, moving them over the cloth on the side of her left breast. Even though he only removed a small piece at a time, it hurt more than any other spot on her body. She purposely left the strip down the middle of her breast for last, knowing that the heat and melting wax would be more than she could handle, and she'd have to heal herself right away.

Zuko thought she was leaving the middle strip for last out of modesty. The anticipation of the moment was making his heart race, and his temperature kept rising. He was getting sweaty again. When he ran his fingers down the middle of her breast, her thick wrappings kept him from feeling any…details. Relief and disappointment struggled in his mind. He pulled off the strip, and she jumped, shouting "Shit!" She used his entire hand to quickly wipe the left-over residue from her breast. "Do you have to be so hot? That hurt."

The combined effect of hearing her scream and cupping her in his hand ended all hope that Zuko had of thinking like a medic. When she leapt away, Zuko put his hands up. "I can't do this, Katara. I don't want to hurt you and I can't keep…touching you."

She was already healing herself when she shouted back. "What? You can't stop now! You can't just leave me like this!" Katara was crying again, he could hear it, but her tears came from anger. "Don't you understand that this is much worse than pain, to me? I'll get over being embarrassed, but I'll never be able to remember the first time…" her voice trailed off.

Zuko spoke very softly, "Katara? I don't understand."

It was easier to explain to him because he was wearing a blindfold and she didn't have to look him in the eyes. "I'm fourteen years old. I've never been touched like this, and I'm not ready. I thought this would happen when I'm older, with someone…someone who loves and me and wants to touch me. Not because I'm covered in glue, and dirt, and I look like a disgusting mess!" She picked up the torn pant leg he had abandoned earlier, and used it to blow her nose.

Zuko wanted to comfort her. He wanted to hold her, and tell her not to be afraid. He wanted to take off the blasted blindfold! "Katara, it's ok." He managed to find his medic voice, again. "I won't leave you. And…this doesn't count, you know. This isn't your first anything. You're injured, and I'm a healer, and that means that this doesn't count." Medic Zuko ended his speech there, but he kept on thinking, _and I want to touch you. And I want you to like it._

They were both better prepared to handle removing the fabric from her right side. Zuko breathed deeply and stayed calm. Katara listened to him breathe, and admitted to herself that she really didn't mind having Zuko touch her. She enjoyed it. But Katara was far too vain and filled with romantic ideals to be pleased with the real reason for his attention.

"My necklace is stuck to a tiny piece of fabric. I think I can pull it off while you unglue that last strip." She used her left hand to put his fingers in place, and tugged gently on the band of her necklace with her right. Zuko peeled the last of the fabric away easily, but the pendant still stuck to her skin. "Crap!" She shouted again. "My hand is stuck!"

"It's ok," Zuko sounded reassuring, 'just put my fingers where you're stuck, and I'll unglue you." He freed her hand, and pulled the band of the necklace away from her skin, holding it so it wouldn't re-adhere." Then they both thought about what would come next.

She had noticed his body reacting to her before. She spent a lot of time with boys, and wasn't shocked or even flattered by what she had been taught was an involuntary reaction – like breathing. It was nothing personal. But this. Damn. Katara almost started to giggle again. _Well, _she thought_,the fire nation is known for its enormous circus tents_. She did not feel at all guilty about staring, since he was blindfolded and it was only fair after all he had seen.

"You'll have to breathe on the pendant." There. Katara just said it. Matter-of-factly, it simply had to be done. She was not looking for any kind of reaction from him. Nope. Not at all.

"How do I…?" Zuko stammered, but Katara had put one hand behind his head, and the other on his chin. She pulled his face down toward the pendant. "Breathe."

Her necklace fell to the sand.

She recovered first. "Let's get some water. Do you want to take that blindfold off?" she inquired, as if offering him a snack to go with his water.

"What?" was his witty reply.

"I'm covered; you can take it off if you want." She sounded sincere.

"But…what are you wearing?" Zuko seemed suspicious.

"Just take off the damn blindfold." She pulled it off his head.

He blinked. She was holding out a flask of water. Her thick hair was swept forward, covering both breasts and stopping just short of the last strip of fabric. The sight of her nearly undid him. He turned around to drink.

"We're almost done," he said, when he managed to find his voice. "Then we can go outside, and pretend this never happened."

Katara snapped, "Oh, sorry to have inconvenienced you for so long. I know it's been hell, trapped alone with me in…"

She never got to finish her sentence. He was across the room in two steps, holding her face, and kissing her. Carefully avoiding leaning against the remaining glue, he moved his arms around her shoulders and embraced her, whispering in her ear, "I will never forget this."

Her hands slid up his chest and clasped together behind his neck. She was crying, and smiling, and falling apart with the release of a tension that had built up over hours. He was warm. She was soft. They held each other until the air holes opened above them, reminding them of the outside world.

Zuko was about to put the blindfold back on, when Katara stopped him. "It's a bit ridiculous, now, don't you think? I mean, your hands have been…"

"Yes. Yes they have," Zuko raised one eyebrow while he smiled at her. "It would probably go a lot faster."

He knelt at her feet, and started to peel away a corner of the fabric stretched across her hips. He stopped, and looked up at her. Damn. That was a view he'd never forget.

"Katara?" he made eye contact, and said, "I need to wear that blindfold, or come up with some kind of distraction."

"Hmm," she looked thoughtful, "I've got it." He looked back down, and began removing the last piece of cloth from her body, pausing when she said, "Zuko, let me tell you about my father."

That worked.

When he finished brushing away the last of the glue, Katara was still telling a story about her father and Bato and the weapons they used to fight a giant squid-ray.

Zuko bundled her in his shirt, and tied the sash around her waist like he was wrapping a gift. He wiped off her necklace, and lifted her hair to close the clasp behind her neck.

He expected Katara's reluctance to return when they were done. What he saw was a confident woman, wearing nothing but his shirt. She looked him in the eye, and smiled at him.

It was the smile, he told himself later. Their first kiss was an apology, but this smile was her reply. It unraveled the last of his control, and for the first time, he stopped worrying that she would never forgive him. Her smile wasn't shy or wanton. It wasn't manipulative, seductive or mocking. It was an honest smile, filled with friendly trust. It was simply Katara, and it was his future. He was going to kiss her again. He was going to tell her everything he felt for her. He was going to - pass out cold.

Katara swept the sand away, kicking it over the scraps of her dress. Then she stomped three times on the ground, and the walls sank.

"Did she kill him??" Sokka stood over his sister, who knelt at the prince's side, running a glowing hand from his forehead to his – ripped pants?

"He's just dehydrated, Sokka. I didn't break him," Katara snapped. "Make sure he drinks this when he wakes up." It wasn't until she stood up and handed him a flask of water, that Sokka noticed who was wearing Zuko's missing shirt. Judging by the horrified expression on Haru's face and the way Aang kept staring at her legs, he was the last one to notice. Her hair looked funny, too.

Sokka was about to launch into over-protective brother mode, and might have made some very dangerous accusations, but Katara quizzed him first. "Sokka, what's stuck to your arm?" she asked, deeply suspicious.

Sokka looked away and replied, "We might have been experimenting with melon-pod bombs – but that's classified information."

Katara smirked, "Well, then. You'd better be nice to Zuko when he wakes up. And Sokka," she paused, "it's going to hurt like hell."

Then Katara marched off, chin high and humming happily to herself, to get her pack and change. Toph felt the shock of the silent boys around her. "You tell 'em, Sugar Queen," she said, but not loud enough for Katara to hear.

Toph made sure that Katara was out of range and the prince was still halfway to the Spirit Realm before bending some dark, gray earth around Sokka's arm. "Don't worry, Snoozles. I can get that out with a little clay."


End file.
